Systematic

THEOLOGY

Robert Letham

wheaton, illinois

Systematic Theology

Copyright © 2019 by Robert Letham

Published by Crossway

1300 Crescent Street

Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Cover design: Jordan Singer

First printing 2019

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4335-4130-8

ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-4133-9

PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-4131-5

Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-4132-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Letham, Robert, author.

Title: Systematic theology / Robert Letham.

Description: Wheaton: Crossway, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018061095 (print) | LCCN 2019021796 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433541315 (pdf) | ISBN 9781433541322 (mobi) | ISBN 9781433541339 (epub) | ISBN 9781433541308 (hc)

Subjects: LCSH: Theology, Doctrinal. | Reformed Church—Doctrines.

Classification: LCC BV75.3 (ebook) | LCC BV75.3 .L48 2019 (print) | DDC 230/.42—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018061095

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

For Joan

Contents

Acknowledgments

Permissions

Abbreviations

Introduction

PART 1 THE TRIUNE GOD

1 The Revelation of God

1.1 Arguments for the Existence of God

1.1.1 Anselm’s Proof for the Existence of God

1.1.2 The Cosmological Argument

1.1.3 The Teleological Argument

1.1.4 The Moral Argument

1.2 General Revelation

1.2.1 The Extent of God’s Revelation in Creation and Providence

1.2.2 The Limits of General Revelation

1.2.3 General Revelation and Natural Theology

1.2.4 The Interrelationship between General and Special Revelation

1.3 Special Revelation

1.3.1 Revelation Is from the Living God

1.3.2 How Far Can God Be Known?

1.3.3 The Nature of Our Knowledge of and Language about God

1.3.4 Revelation and the Bible

2 The Trinity (1): Biblical Basis

2.1 Progressive Revelation of the Trinity

2.2 The Old Testament Foundation

2.2.1 Hints of Plurality in the Old Testament

2.2.2 The Word and Wisdom of God

2.2.3 The Expectation of the Coming of the Messiah

2.3 Jesus and the Father

2.4 Jesus’s Equality and Identity with God

2.5 Jesus as Creator, Judge, and Savior

2.6 Worship of Jesus

2.7 The Preexistence of Christ

2.8 The Holy Spirit

2.9 Trinitarian Formulae and Triadic Patterns

2.10 Trinitarian Questions

3 The Trinity (2): Church Formulation

3.1 From the New Testament to Constantinople I

3.1.1 Two Main Heresies

3.1.2 The Fourth-Century Crisis

3.1.3 The Crisis Resolved

3.1.4 The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (C)

3.2 One Ousia, Three Hypostases

3.2.1 Consubstantiality

3.2.2 Hypostatic Distinctions

3.2.3 Perichorēsis

3.3 Inseparable Operations and Distinct Appropriations

3.4 The Taxis (Ταξίς)

3.5 Eternal Generation, Eternal Procession...